Where oh where to put my powerhead

[fibreheart]

Hi all!

I have a question. I have a 90 gal marineland tank and setting it up for a Malawi set up.

I have a Rena xp3, LED bubbers and a 35gal rated powerhead(I didn't want to blow my fish away )

So my idea in my head is I want ALOT of rock in my tank and I also want good filtration. So I put my intake in the back right corner and my output spray bar across the top on the right wall. I have my powerhead on the back corner about half way down the left wall pointed to the back wall in a kiddie corner spray thing.

My original thought was to put the power head down at the bottom to blow across the the back of the rock toward the intake pipe which is about 1.5" above the substrate. My problem is my 300W heater flashes "LF" (Low Flow) at me and I have to move my power head up. The instructions say that the heater will work but it is instructing me that the heated water is not moving around.

I have dead spots in the left and right back corners and in the front right corner. Is there a way I can position this powerhead to the most effective? Should I get a second one?

I hope I explained this right

Thank you!

 

[carey]

I only have a 55 malawi setup and currently am not using any powerheads anymore. I had a small johanni get sucked up by it. I don't think the fish mind the lack of flow, most of them are on the bottom anyways in the rocks.

For water movement I have a bubble bar, lol, not because its cool or necessary but I find my mbuna LOVE to play in it.

Welcome to the forum glad to have another malawi fan. Post some pics if you can, would love to see what youve got setup.

 

[fibreheart]

I will be happy to as soon as it's finished cycling I got it last Friday as a present from my hubby and transferred all my rock, filter media and water from my 6 year old 55 to my 90. My numbers for the last 2 days have been Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0 and Nitrate between 40 and 80 so I think it's getting close if those numbers hold so hopefully I will be able to buy fish by the weekend. Then I will post pics

 

[fibreheart]

I have always loved Africans too. My BIL had them but never kept any alive so I thought they were just too complicated so I stuck with my Jacks and convicts until I researched more and realized what he did wrong

 

[mfdrookie516]

What kind of heater do you have? I've never seen one that detected flow other than inline heaters. I have never used a powerhead in my african tank either. My canisters provide plenty of flow.

 

[fibreheart]

I have a Fluval E300 300w heater. They are apparently new on the market. They are encased in a hard plastic cover so your fish don't get burned or bang them against the glass. They come with a digital screen that shows your current temp and when the heater goes on and off. It also tells you if flow is accurate. Maybe a bit of overkill but I thought it was a great buy

 

[mfdrookie516]

Oh ok. I've seen those, but never really looked at them. Sounds like a good heater from what little I've heard people say about them. First time I'd heard that they detect flow though Have you tried putting it next to the intake of your filter? That should pull water through the heater then distribue the heated water evenly throughout the tank. That's how all my heaters are placed

 

[fibreheart]

Hey, if anyone can recommend an aquatic crab for brackish that would be awesome too. I don't want shrimp I think they would be lunch and clams are hard to find. But I am looking for total aquatic. No land critters if there are any.

 

[fibreheart]

Oh ok. I've seen those, but never really looked at them. Sounds like a good heater from what little I've heard people say about them. First time I'd heard that they detect flow though Have you tried putting it next to the intake of your filter? That should pull water through the heater then distribue the heated water evenly throughout the tank. That's how all my heaters are placed

That's what I think I may have to do. My tank has these plastic strips in the back after the glass top that you cut to fit your hoses, cords and stuff. And we had already cut to fit where everything is. I may have to adjust that if I can't get my flow to work out the way I want.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Are you talking about the clear plastic that 'snaps' on to the back of the glass lid? I would remove that anyways. I don't run lids on any of my tanks, but completely sealing off the tank from air is not a good idea. You'll have issues from lack of gas exchange (low o2, pH crash, etc) if you don't get good air flow to the surface of the water.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Hey, if anyone can recommend an aquatic crab for brackish that would be awesome too. I don't want shrimp I think they would be lunch and clams are hard to find. But I am looking for total aquatic. No land critters if there are any.

You have a brackish tank too? Cool Seems like I remember some cool micro crabs that a member had on here, but I think they were freshwater. What kind of fish are in that tank? Your best bet for some solid advice on that would be to start a new thread with tank specs, stock, etc for some ideas.

 

[BigJim]

I've got an E100 in my 20H and I'm not very impressed with it. I bought it NIB from eBay, but the box looked like it had been stored underwater, so I may have gotten a dud. I have the heater directly next to the intake of my AC30. I had it in a corner and I got the "LF" low flow message a lot.

I moved it out of the corner into more water flow and the "LF" message went away, but the heater wouldn't heat the tank up to 76 while a Hydor 100W in my 29g has no problem with 78-80 degrees. Moving the heater directly next to the intake seems to have improved its performance. Now it typically ranges between 75 and 76.

I've tried cleaning it, but it looks brand new when I disassembled it. I've thought about switching it with the heater in my 29g to see if the performance improves. At the moment, I'm a bit disappointed with the heater. I'm really glad I didn't pay full price for it.

 

[fibreheart]

I'm sorry to hear that you may have a dud So far I am impressed with mine. I have a floating thermometer in there too and it concurs with the 80 degrees that my heater is putting out. I can program up to 86 in it at 0.5 intervals. That's really coo I think. I'm so use to the old glass ones that I'm all starry eyed with this new one LOL


"You have a brackish tank too?"
No I misspoke a bit. I am salting my Malawi tank so it's not totally fresh. I tend to call it brackish. But I guess it's a weak version LOL. I know I don't really have to but where I live, these fish are very expensive. So above and beyond is fine with me

 

[mfdrookie516]

Oh ok. Yeah. Salt is a pretty contraversial subject. Are you using lake salts or just aquarium salt? Lake salt, sure why not? Aquarium salt, ahhh don't waste your money on it. Just to help you understand it, a brackish tank is basically half freshwater, half saltwater. Simply adding aquarium or lake salt isn't going to give you a brackish tank. You need marine salt like you would use in a saltwater aquarium. So, you have a freshwater tank.

Personally, I wouldn't add any crabs in an african setup. I agree that shrimp wouldn't last long either. I would stick to the cichlids, and maybe a synodontis cat if you're looking for a scavenger.

BTW, Sorry to get OT

 

[fibreheart]

I'm using African Rift lake salt. I knew brackish water was something like half and half. I really don't know why I keep using that word LOL. I was going to get a syno cat until I saw what they do in the wild. I don't think I will be impressed with my beautiful Malawis carrying mouthfuls of catfish babies. Does anyone know if this actually happens in a home tank?

 

[bavass]

 

[mfdrookie516]

If you only get one syno, you definitely wont have to worry about spawning. I've only kept mbuna in my mbuna tank. I never felt the need for a scavenger. If you want one because of their looks, great. If not, there's definitely not a need for one.

 

[fibreheart]

Those are awesome plans! I think I like Option #3 the best. Now, I would love to get 2 units but not in the budget at the moment. My BIL has an extra power head he will give me if I need it, but that's about it. Are their any suggestions for an XP3 spraybar and 1 or two power heads for the best water flow? Thank you so much for the diagrams for sure

 

[fibreheart]

If you only get one syno, you definitely wont have to worry about spawning. I've only kept mbuna in my mbuna tank. I never felt the need for a scavenger. If you want one because of their looks, great. If not, there's definitely not a need for one.

I'm still undecided on my janitor crew. I still have my plec that may be enough. She's about 6" or so. But I am a little concerned about the rock. My Jewel won't be able to get her big nose in the nooks and crannys